I-526 Timing Estimates

—Summer 2021 UPDATE— I am temporarily not providing EB-5 timing estimates, as the factors that create EB-5 wait times are in chaotic flux thanks to the regional center program shutdown on top of COVID-19/political shutdowns and resource reallocation. For now, see posts in the EB-5 Statistics category for any updates.

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In response to repeated requests, I am open to consult about I-526 processing times. It’s impossible to say for sure how long you will have to wait for your petition to be processed, because data is limited and the process itself is in flux. Nevertheless, I can assess probabilities and draw on information that is available in order to address such questions as:

• What are best-case and worst-case scenarios for I-526 timing for my country and priority date?
• What evidence can support a case that my I-526 is unreasonably delayed?
• What is my place in the I-526 backlog? How many I-526 currently have priority to be processed before mine?
• How does the visa availability approach affect my priority and processing time?
• What do we know about history and trends at IPO for I-526 processing volume?
• Which I-526 are being processed now?
• How can I interpret I-526 processing reports?
• What can I do to influence my I-526 timing?
• How can I think about the probability that my children will face age-out?

The I-526 timing consultation service is a personalized analysis specific to your country, priority date, and individual questions and concerns. The consultation includes an organized collection of data relevant to your case and questions, analysis and explanation of that data, and on-going discussion. You can follow up by email with questions, or schedule a call or chat to discuss further. I will continue to follow up until December 31, 2020, contacting you as I obtain significant new data or information, note changed circumstances, or think of a better way to approach your timing questions. For detail about the resources I currently have available to apply to timing questions, see the table at the base of this post.

To request the service, please complete and submit the following form. I will respond by email with confirmation and payment instructions. The fee is $200, reflecting a portion of the time I put into the service.

For the moment, I am only offering I-526 consultation, with visa timing considered as it affects I-526. In the future, I will add additional products specific to visa wait times for China, Vietnam, and India.

I-526 Timing Consultation Package Request Form

Requestor's Name(required)

Requestor's Email(required)

EB-5 Investor's Priority Date(required)

EB-5 Investor's Country of Birth(required)

Service Requested(required) I-526 Timing Consultation Service $200

How would you like to send payment?(required) PayPal Credit card (processed by PayPal) Zelle Other

Is your petition associated with a regional center or direct EB-5 investment?(required) Regional Center Direct EB-5

Has the project you invested in received any approvals from USCIS? (Exemplar I-526 or other investor I-526?)(required) Yes Not yet I am not sure

Optional Additional Information (Any special circumstances you would like to mention? Any particular questions you would like answered?)

Click on the “Submit” button below to send this request to Suzanne Lazicki. You will then receive an email from suzanne@lucidtext.com to confirm your request and provide instructions for payment and scheduling.

Submit

Available Data and Information

I have collected and analyzed data and resources related to capacity, process, and queue questions. In making a timing consultation, I select and calculate from data points in this collection that are particularly relevant to your situation and questions.  Available information is limited, particularly for people who filed I-526 recently. As time goes on, more information will become available.

EB-5 Wait Time Factors	Information available to Suzanne as of April 2020
Capacity Questions How many I-526 will USCIS adjudicate per quarter? How many visas are available annually to each country? What factors may change capacity in the future?	Historical quarterly I-526 completion rates from 2014 through December 31, 2019 Log of I-526 processing times reports from 2014 to the present USCIS statements about past and future resource allocation and processing goals Anecdotal evidence about recent volume Total visas available for FY2020 Information about how the visa process works, and factors that could change visa availability and allocation
Process Questions What officially determines the order of I-526 adjudication? What determines the order of visa issuance? Is there anything the petitioner can do to influence the process? How can we interpret the USCIS processing times report and monthly visa bulletin?	USCIS statements about the past I-526 adjudication process and the current visa availability approach USCIS explanation of the processing times report, and analysis of how past reports have compared with reality ·Department of State explanations of visa allocation and the visa bulletin Observation of individual experience, and deviation from the nominal process Observation of the interplay between the I-526 and visa process Information about consular processing vs. I-485 Information about expedite requests and litigation options
Queue Questions At the time you filed I-526, how many other people were in line for EB-5 visas? From which countries, and when did they file I-526? Where were they in the process – I-526 stage or visa stage? Today, how many people who were already in line when you filed I-526 are still in line? Where are they in the process today? Could your timing be affected by anyone who filed I-526 after you did? If so, can we quantify the population of people who might get earlier priority for I-526 adjudication or a visa?	Worldwide quarterly I-526 receipt and pending data through December 31, 2019 Per-country I-526 receipt data through December 31, 2018 Data for I-526 pending by country and priority date (month, year) as of October 1, 2018 and December 31, 2019 Historical data for I-526 denial rates Historical data for number of principals in visa applications by country Periodic estimates by Charles Oppenheim from Department of State from 2018 and 2019 regarding number of visa applications expected to result from pending I-526 2018 data for pending EB-5 I-485 by country Annual data on visa issued through I-485 (most recent: FY2019) Reports of the NVC backlog by country at various points in time, most recently as of November 2019